Raison D'être
by Kawaii-n-Junsui
Summary: Kid is pulled into the dark world of the mysterious collecter Noah and his cohorts, torn by his mind willing him to escape and his body-- and soon his heart-- rooting him to one place KidxNoah
1. Reason One

**Raison D'être**

**By Kawaii n Junsui**

**Reason One**

**Domination**

* * *

_**Dedicated to Nenena**_

_

* * *

_

_"Come to me children and follow my way_

_Into the world of darkness and magic_

_With all my power I'll show you the way_

_To all your dreams; hopes and illusions."_

"Magic Melody" - DHT

* * *

There was something unsettling about an empty home. Everything was where it had been before; the manor home was large and lushly furnished. The bed was left unmade and there was a grocery list pinned by way of magnet to the refrigerator door. Everything was as it should be, how it usually was. To be quite fair, the house was not empty at all. Not exactly. Of the four usual occupants, only one was missing, and yet that absence made a cavern so wide that one felt a stranger in their own home. Indeed the house had become rather empty without Death the Kid.

Liz stared mindlessly out the window, toying with the fringe of the pillow beneath her. Somewhere, beyond that maze of twisting back alleys and streetlights her meister was awaiting her. Somewhere he was where he most definitely should never be. Possibly still in that wretched book. With that imposter of a man who had the strangest aura she had ever felt. She gave an involuntary shiver and hugged the pillow to her chest. Heavy blue eyes were glued to her knees. They felt so weighty in her head, and yet she knew she couldn't cry any longer. There just were no more tears left. Instead she felt hollow, the guilt endlessly gnawing at her insides. Her inaction had caused him to be taken from her. Possibly - and Liz didn't dare think it - forever. The Death Eagle shuddered again. A lifetime remaining without Kid... no, she wouldn't try to fathom it. Couldn't. If nothing else, then for Patti's sake.

"He's out there, ya know he is." the chipper voice cut the silence like a knife. Liz started as her sister walked further into the room, thoughtful and quiet for once. There was a noticeable lack of spring in her steps. Liz's heart sunk like a rock. Her poor, dear sister. The younger Thompson edged onto the window seat, tucking herself beside Liz's folded legs. "He's just gotta be, ya know?" the younger pressed a hand to the cool glass. "It's only been what, five days? That's nothin' for a tough guy like him!" When she smiled there was only a trace of her usual confidence.

"I know as much as you do that he's a shinigami, Patti, but..." sorrowful blue eyes returned to the city scene sprawled below them. "...you know how he is. What if he breaks down like he usually does? What if his OCD gets really bad from the stress? What if- "

"Lizzy!" the blonde chided. Her look was both petulant and serious. "Don't say stuff like that! He's... he's just taking his time is all. He likes to plan stuff out. 'Course it'll be all symmetrically and stuff, but, ya know. He'll get it done."

"We should be out there helping him!" Liz cried, throwing the pillow to the floor. "I... I don't give a _damn_ if we can't do anything, we've just got to TRY. I feel like a lousy piece of shit up here and safe while he's... he's..." Her gaze lowered guiltily, small rivulets of tears coursing down her cheeks. "It's just not safe right now. That guy killed Mosquito, stole the BREW, and took our Kid, all without flinching. And what with Justin... I'm so afraid..." The hysteria in her tone had dimmed to a low whisper.

"Well, sis?" Patti asked, drawing her sister's chin up to look at her. "Can I shoot the bastard when we find him?" Such a cute, genuine smile. Liz blinked up at her dazedly, a calmness settling over her. In seconds she found herself laughing, though she wasn't certain exactly why. Patti scooted beside her, giggling as well. Surely it had to be true madness. Laughing, to replace the tears they could no longer cry.

* * *

The contorted patterns on the floor where slowly driving him mad. Lean slivers of crimson bled into patches of orchid and plum, creating an elaborate array of sickly flowers and spirals. And the eyes. The all-seeing unblinking eyes that lay out in a wide arc, mocking his currently weak existence. Today, he figured, should be a celebration of sorts. It was, after all, his first day out of the book since his capture. Yet he found no strength within him anywhere to celebrate. He tried to straighten his spine and found it an incredibly hard feat to accomplish. Elbows bent at an odd angle, his arms, extending almost backwards, remained bound at the wrists by the strangest shackles he'd ever seen. Above and slightly behind his head was a page which remained magically tacked to the low part of the ceiling. And from this page extruded a pair of crossed handcuffs. Although Kid couldn't be sure - nor could he see, for that matter - what they were made of, they were misshapen and strangely hot, pulsating on occasion as if the cuffs themselves contained a heartbeat. He had long since ruled out the notion that they were the coils of a snake. Thinking of Medusa, this made him a bit uncomfortable, so he ruled it out at once. Which was a hard task to forget given the constrictor-like nature of the damned things; every small move against the cuffs had them tightening painfully closer against his wrists.

He sighed to himself and turned to glare at the wretched object which cast the absurd pattern across the cement floor - the single rose window mounted to his left. He had been bound, he discovered, to the side of the large room, where the long slanted ceiling came to meet with the connecting wall. His back was partially facing said stained glass, and it was causing a rather uncomfortable warmth to seep beneath his thin dress shirt. The setting sun had made the room hotter than he had anticipated, and only intensified the ghoulish shapes stretched out like a puzzle before him. Kid fought the urge to squirm. Though there was no one around to watch him, he just wouldn't allow himself. Not to mention the eventual sharp pain that would eventually come. Yes, Kid could hardly find it within himself to celebrate.

He scowled at the large wooden doors opposite the window. The same doors which his captors had left through. Justin, that drunkard from Arachnophobia, Eibon's demon tool clown, the sadistic teen Gopher, and him. Noah. He supposed that somewhere beyond there they were comfortable, possibly eating and laughing about his own misfortunes. Kid's stomach growled painfully and he winced. Sighing once more, he cast a wary look about his surroundings and succumbed to his own thoughts.

He wasn't quite certain how long it was since he had been placed in the book. He glared. 'Placed' was too light of a term. 'Sucked viciously inward by the chest' would be more appropriate. It was also a six-word-long term. He allowed himself a small smile. In any event, being within a _book_ was, as to be expected, a very, very unusual sensation. Once he had gotten over the overwhelming blackness of the abyss, he found that he could walk within the supposed pages. He was not so certain how _long_ it was that he walked for, but he eventually had the creeping realization that he had yet to feel the least bit tired. A little while later he had seen a light in the far distance, and, with a sort of wild abandon, had ran towards it. In actuality the light was much larger than he had anticipated. It was an olden-style streetlamp with a flickering flame inside its cage. Beneath its glow was a rose compass, with each direction labeled as a place rather than an orientation. While what Kid assumed was possibly "North" read "Last Recorded Mermaid", East, South, and West read, respectively, as, "Banana Bread Recipe", "Notations On the Significance of Gems Within Pentagrams", and "Diagrams of the Worm Anatomy".

Kid decided then that if he ever had the strange occurrence of discovering Wonderland, that this would pretty much be it. Allowing his curiosity get the better of him, he walked as directly as he could towards presumed North. And when he had reached his destination, he was surprised to find a young woman laying on her back in a pool of disembodied light. Her bare breasts rose and fell with her shallow breathing, yet all else was still, all the way down to her sheer lavender fins. She looked, for all the world, dead.

"Don't worry your pretty little _head_ boy,

She isn't _dead_."

Kid started, turning to where the voice had come from, just in time to see a giant sand colored paw emerge from the blackness beyond. After spending who knew how long wandering the abyss alone, the young shinigami felt strangely uncomfortable in the presence of another. The stranger came fully into view - a lion-like sphynx the size of a horse with a lapis-inlayed golden headdress that would rival any pharaoh's for a mane. Slanted, painted eyes stared down at him. Their curious sanguine color sent Kid roiling with anxiety, and the coppery scent of blood from beneath the creature's claws had not escaped his notice either.

"Ah, a newcomer I see!

Well I suppose now that makes _three_." It said thoughtfully, turning it's gaze to the unconscious mermaid.

"Th-that won't do at all!" Kid stammered. "That makes us unsymmetrical, see?"

"Now neither are _you_

And there's really only _two_." The sphynx pointed out, nodding between itself and Kid.

"Poor Mhera here isn't dead,

as I have already said.

You see there are many of us

We're hard to find, so don't make a fuss.

You're apart of Noah-sama's lovely collection

Of all else you'll have little recollection."

"I can remember just fine, thanks." Kid said, feeling a little bolder. The sphynx carried on in its ambiguous tone.

"You won't need it, silly boy

You're now just a showpiece, a _toy_

Life here is simple and charming

It is the outside world that is truly alarming."

"Charming?!" Kid objected, pointing to the mermaid. "Then what happened to _her_?! She's half fish! Doesn't she need water or... or _something_?"

"Here there is no need for time or space

Here many things call home to this place

We need not and want not

Our stomachs won't hunger, our bodies won't rot

We need neither water nor air

Sleeplessness causes no despair

We are safe here you see

From avarice and extinction we are free

Preserved between pages like pressed flowers

Within this abyss we spend our hours

Whenever too long we've seen light of day

Into a coma, our minds slip away

A deathlike embrace shall hold us until

These endless pages indeed have been filled

Or till the call of our kind Master

Comes back to us and awakens us faster."

"Your master? Noah?" Kid questioned incredulously. "He's a fake, a fraud. He claims he is Eibon, the author of this very book, but I know that's a lie! And he's barely _polite_ if you ask me." At this the sphynx reared its head sharply and emitted a low hiss, claws sinking into the supposed ground.

"Wretched boy you know so little!

Now you shall answer me this unsolved riddle:

What can see, but has no eyes? What betrays, but never lies?"

Fury danced within the sphynx's eyes as it thrashed its mighty head, baring ivory teeth in a snarl. Frozen in fear, Kid ran the words through his head like a mantra. Then, finding the strength that hadn't escaped him, he ran. A hellish Wonderland, indeed! The sphynx's feral roar echoed behind him, and soon he was lost in the darkness once more.

It had been then that he had heard a familiar voice, "Come, Shinigami-kun. You will speak." Now Kid felt spiteful for the momentary joy he had felt as the darkness melted away and he was dumped unceremoniously on hard ground. He groped around blindly as his eyes readjusted to actual light. It didn't take long to determine both that the ground was made of concrete and very much _there_ unlike within the book, and that Noah's knee was at eye-level. Before he had the time to deduce anything further, he was wrenched painfully upwards and trapped into place with the most unnatural feeling handcuffs he'd ever felt. Not as if he was accustomed with _regular _ones, but this feeling certainly was _not_ metal. Vision restored, he looked up to glare at his captor.

Noah turned from him disinterestedly. "Gopher." his tone curt. "Dispose of his jacket and everything with his coat of arms on it." A boy Kid's age emerged from the corner of the room, dutifully scooping the familiar white striped jacket from the ground. Kid blinked in surprise. It must have come off when his arms had been bound. The boy - Gopher? - folded the affect neatly over his arm and stepped into the light of the rose window. He had pale skin and soft, wavy black hair. His eyes were an intense copper color, his irises shockingly similar to Kid's own shinigami eyes. But when their gaze met, the boy's countenance hardened and he strode over confidently to the bound meister. He gave Kid a disdainful cursory glance. First to go was the brooch. Then the suspenders with their perfect skull-shaped clasps. The shinigami twisted uncomfortably, ignoring the sharp constrictions of the cuffs at his wrists, trying to keep Gopher from him. But the boy was determined and soon even Kid's beloved rings had been stripped from him.

Noah remained silent as Gopher exited and re-entered the room, this time empty handed. Kid felt his gut twist. He felt naked before their hateful glares. "It's been five days, you know." this time the collectors voice was _pleasant_. Pleasant as one would sound talking about something as trivial as the weather. It made him sick. Noah continued. "Five days since Arachnophobia collapsed, since you became a part of my collection." a hint of a smirk played over his lips. "Today would make the sixth. Do you know where we are?" Kid shook his head slowly. "New Mexico. Outside of Santa Fe. Middle of _nowhere_. Lovely abandoned church, hmn? Well-" he patted the magical tool at his side affectionately. " -I hope you've found the Book to be exciting."

Kid stared at him flatly, uncertain how best to answer. Noah's smirk disappeared. "I need you to tell me about Maka Albarn. I _expect_ you to."

"She's a student at Shibusen. Nothing more, nothing less." Kid's golden eyes scowled.

"And she is one of your friends, am I right? One of few." Noah stared evenly back.

"She's not. She's an acquaintance, but not a friend."

"One that you spend a lot of time with? That's awfully _close_ for not being friends."

"She's my friend's girlfriend. She's just another obnoxious, if not bookish, schoolgirl. What the hell difference does it make anyway?!" the shinigami spat. Gopher stiffened, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

"You will do as Noah-sama demands, shinigami. _Nothing more, nothing less_." his tone was harsh yet surprisingly ambiguous.

"What do you know about Maka Albarn?" Noah asked again, a dangerous glimmer in his words.

"I've already told you, I'm not that close to Maka. She's just around a lot. There's nothing more to say about her. She's just not that interesting."

"Your tone is guarded, Shinigami-kun. Don't play me for a fool: I can tell when you're lying. It's evident in your face." There was an air of triumph about him. "She was there during the fall of Arachnophobia. As a matter of fact, she's the very one to claim the late Lady Arachne's _soul_. She was also sent – along with yourself and a few other students – to personally seek out the BREW." Kid's eyes shot wide, much to the collector's amusement. "Yes, I know _quite_ a bit about what's been going on."

"What do you want with Maka?" Kid asked quietly. He knew it would be futile to keep up the charade. But this man was clearly dangerous. He shifted slightly against his bonds, trying to work out the stiffness in his body. Tried not to wince when the cuffs cut into his skin. But Noah watched him with a critical eye, examining his every movement and expression. Kid fought the strong urge to squirm.

"Maka Albarn is indeed a student at Shibusen. Her weapon is Soul Eater Evans, a scythe who is one year older than her. I can hardly believe they are in a relationship with as much as they fight." Noah scoffed. "They're going to have to work out a lot for your claim to be true. Not like it matters…" Kid could have sworn he saw a scowl. "Love is only a word." The collector's eyes snapped back to his prisoner. "Maka Albarn is a trusted student. No doubt they will send her after me, seeing as I have the BREW now."

"The _BREW_?" Kid replied incredulously. "You fucking kidding me? Chichi-ue's going to be PISSED when he finds out from Liz and Patti what you've done! When he finds you, you'll be wishing you had perished with that old hag Arachne. You fucking bastard, just you wait. You'll get what's yours soon enough!"

"I doubt that." Noah's voice was maddeningly calm. "If your father had any intention of getting you back, he could have easily sent scouts out after us as we made our way up from Brazil. It's not as if we just _vanished_. No. You know where your beloved father is? At _home_. At home and drinking tea without a bloody care in the world."

"LIAR!" a soft pink glow began to emanate from Kid's body, tendrils of raw energy thrashing violently. "YOU DIRTY LIAR! Chichi-ue loves me! He's probably organizing a recon right now! He has NOT abandon- AUGH!" Pain assaulted his senses as Gopher's fist connected with his forehead. The world went a stuttering white as his ears began to ring, the warmth of blood trickling down his arms barely registering as he forced himself to shakily stand. The cuffs had cut into his wrists when he fell from the impact. Kid vaguely wondered if there would be scars. A firm grip held his chin and yanked his face upward. The hazy image of Gopher's spiteful copper eyes glared down at him.

"You will _not_ speak that way about Noah-sama. You are not to talk back without permission and you _will not_ EVER attempt to use your shinigami magic against us."

"Oh yeah?" Kid spat, head still ringing. "Just fucking watch me, you piece of shit!" Strong hands wrapped around his neck, throttling him.

"You may be able to go without breathing longer than a human would, _shinigami_, but you will need to breathe eventually. Never you worry though. I'm _patient_." The hands tightened, crushing against Kid's windpipe. He squirmed, unable to break free in his restrained position, the blood attempting to rush to his head.

"Gopher." Low and curt; an order. Reluctantly the hands loosened from Kid's throat, and the meister gasped, vision fading out once more. He stood there trembling in silence a short while longer while Noah and Gopher deliberated. "Shinigami-kun- "

"Kid. My name is _Kid_."

"…That's ridiculous and you know it."

"To hell with you!" the meister shouted, hardly caring if Gopher would lash out at him again. He would be useless to them dead. He _hoped_ so, at least. "Like I would tell you my real name! Everyone calls me 'Kid'. I'm sick of you referring to me with that disgusting nickname." Noah's lips quirked.

"Alright then, _Kid_. What I want from you is your endless access to _everything_ on this continent. You will aid me in my ventures and you will do so without question or complaint. I've already been _very_ generous by allowing you to retain access to your shinigami abilities." He full-out smirked then. "Because I know how vulnerable and defenseless you'd be then."

Kid growled under his breath. The bastard. He already knew that Noah had overwhelmingly more power than he did. "Then what's this about Maka?"

"You will… enable me to keep the BREW."

"Too bad. It's not like Maka's the only one you have to fear. Shibusen doesn't only use students. We have secret weapons that you couldn't even _dream _about. You delusional fuck, like I'd speak a WORD of treachery agai- MNRG!" This time Gopher's foot connected soundly with the side of his face. Electric pinpricks of shock shot through him. His lips became slick and warm. Copper.

"DO NOT FUCK AROUND WITH US!" Malice looked down upon him. Gopher's hands were balled into angry fists before him. "Shinigami…"

"Gopher… that will be enough, thank you." Noah's voice had returned to sounding cold and demanding. The servant backed away after a moment's hesitation, forcing his hands down to his side. Noah stared a moment before sighing, changing his angle. "Kid… this is getting nowhere. But I have another _comment_. I would ask that you refrain from reorganizing the contents of my book without my permission. With all the bookmarks I had placed in it; it may have appeared disorderly, but I actually found it rather convenient to use."

Kid bristled. That forced politeness. It was subtly disturbing in its own way. Something else bothered the young shinigami as well. Noah _refused_ to directly touch him. To hit him. To so much as raise his voice. It was deeply unsettling. He remembered when he had rearranged the tabs. It was something he had come across while within the abyss of the Book of Eibon. Thick strips of equal size, all in semi-transparent shades of neon pink, yellow, green, and blue. He hadn't recognized them as giant post-it note tabs, but it certainly made sense now. In the abyss they had been spread apart in varying distances, not even in a pattern of colors. Disgusted, he had taken the time to sort them by color, and then by rainbow order (what Liz remembered as ROYGBV), and spaced them exactly a foot apart from one another. Much more visually appealing. Noah clearly had no taste in pattern. He raised his eyes to glare at his captor evenly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His lips still tasted warm and bitter. "Hmph." He scowled. "If you plan on keeping me inside the thing, the least you can do is keep it organized in a tidy fashion." _'This stressed out I won't be able to hold back from my OCD tendencies. I can hardly stand it right now. Those BELTS of his… they're all over the place! The ones at his hip are hideously asymmetri-!!'_

Gopher's fist slammed into his stomach with crushing force. The air whooshed out of Kid's lungs and he gagged. The other teen's fist was still rammed into his solar plexus, and the meister could feel Gopher shaking with fury. "You do NOT answer back to Noah-sama." His voice trembled. "Know your place, shinigami."

"Gopher." The single word cut like a knife.

"But…" The teen backed away. Kid frowned through the pain, blood dribbling down his chin in a steady stream now, staining his otherwise pristine dress shirt. He could faintly detect remorse and... hurt?

"Gopher!! Must you persist in damaging my collection?!" dangerous, barely contained anger overwhelmed Kid's senses in waves. "I fear it is _you_ who should be told to 'know your place'." The teen shrunk away from Kid's side, head hung. Something indescribable danced in his eyes, but it was banished quickly.

"...My deepest apologies, Noah-sama."

"Great show, keep it up!" a rogue voice called from the doorway. "Goes good with my drink." Giriko the demon chainsaw sauntered in, Justin at his heels. He smiled devilishly and took a swig from his beer bottle.

"It's not healthy to be so uptight, Gopher-san." Justin commented snidely, stepping before the chainsaw. "And Kid-san... you too should learn to simply go with the flow once in a while rather than dwelling on regularity."

Anger and betrayal surged through the young shinigami as he stared at the person he had once trusted almost closer than anyone else. "Traitor." he snarled, feeling the rising need to swipe the smile off the bastard's face.

"My, how scary." Justin rolled his eyes irritatingly. "Are you trying to exact penitence from this betrayer?" Leave it to Justin to make a snide religious-based remark.

"Don't make me laugh." Kid spat bitterly. "I envy you those earphones you always wear, Justin. With those I wouldn't have to listen to all the utter bullshit you people spout." Noah stared at him darkly.

"Gopher." his eyes remained glued to Kid's form. "Go and make preparations."

"Yes, Noah-sama..." a deranged eagerness. Kid shivered involuntarily as he watched the teen begin to cross the room. Apprehension settled over him.

_'Preparations? ...For... Maka!'_ "Wait! What are you planning now?!" he shook, trying to squash down the fear that griped him like a vice. If Maka ended up hurt... it could only be his fault. "YOU _SCUM_!" he screamed. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't deal with being saddled with this guilt. "Just you TRY laying a finger on Maka! You'll regret it, I PROMISE you!"

Gopher stopped in his tracks, convulsing with small, dark giggles. Spinning on his heel he shot the bound shinigami a deranged look. "Surely you get lonely here all on your own? Perhaps the stiffened corpses of your friends would help stimulate your neurotic little mind?"

"You sick fuck..." Kid stared after Gopher; the teen giggled twistedly to himself as he made his exit. The others shot him a look before slowly filing out of the room. Noah stood at the doorway, staring him straight in the eyes in a silent challenge. Then he too left, closing the door solidly behind him.

Kid stood in the afternoon light, staring morosely at the figures the rose window made on the floor. "Maka... please... be safe." _'Soul. Please look after her. Please... don't let me hold this guilt. I can hardly handle this. It's all too much. Please...'_ As much as he denied it, the silent tears continued to roll down his cheeks.

* * *

By now he was long passed feeling numb. At the beginning, his body shook and protested. He hungered for food and started cramping up. All the blood had run down his arms and they tingled painfully. Only when the cuffs tightened sharply against his wrists did he feel anything there, and his feet tired from constantly standing. With five days spent in a book and imprisoned since early morning on the sixth, the hunger of a week's worth of missed meals hit him like a pound of bricks. His stomach growled again in protest and he glared hopelessly at the sun that was setting beyond the rose window. All his muscles, strung tight with tension, had ceased paining him hours ago. His hunger, on the other hand, refused to leave him.

The wooden doors flung open with a startling _bang!_ as Noah and Justin entered the large room. Kid barely repressed a snarl of his own as he felt his hackles rise. _Justin_. His alleged childhood friend. His cheerful, friendly confidant. His peaceable, unsullied adoptive _brother_. A Death Scythe, no less! All he had seen was nothing like the Justin before him now. Disgust and betrayal tore at his insides.

"Release him." Noah's voice penetrated his thoughts. Golden eyes snapped up to meet amber as Kid calculated the meaning behind them. He bristled as Justin brushed his side, the priest tearing the page neatly off the ceiling. Whatever Kid had planned next crumbled instantly as he fell to the ground. The blood began to flood back to parts of his body, and every muscle screamed in protest as he tried to prop himself up into a respectable position. Justin's cold eyes stared down at him unsympathetically as he threw a booted toe into Kid's spine. The young shinigami screamed in pain as his body spasmed. Justin attacked again, this time to the striped side of his head. Kid knew he had screamed once more, though he couldn't hear it, his head filled with confusing white noise. Instead, he curled in on himself, desperately wishing all the pain away. Wishing he didn't look - that he truly _wasn't_ - so vulnerable. Hating himself for every scream, every admission of pain he uttered. Surely Chichi-ue would handle this better. No, Chichi-ue would never be in such a compromising position because he was strong and brave. He surely would _not_ be allowing any captor the satisfaction that Kid was granting Noah and Justin.

The shinigami's gut twisted in doubt and self-loathing. "What do you want?" he choked out, trying to jeep his voice as calm as possible.

"You have refused to grant me the knowledge I seek; you will tell me nothing _useful _about Maka Albarn. I'm about to return you to the Book." Noah explained boredly. "And I needed the page holding you to do so. Adieu."

"W-Wait!" Kid exclaimed, hating himself even more for his pettiness. Noah paused, the Book of Eibon half-raised, its maws open. The man cocked an eyebrow curiously. Kid took this as permission to continue on. "I must be more useful than this; otherwise you wouldn't have... _collected_ me." He made a foul look around the word. "Surely I'm more useful than some crazed attempt at ransom." Kid fought back a wince. His pride was surely sweeping the floor by this point. But Kid would endure the humiliation. He couldn't stand the immense pain of being trapped in the room, or the maddening reflections of the glass window. He knew it would be disastrous for his body and personal sanity. He eyed the still-open book warily. He also would not return to that abyss. Even if it meant begging. Swallowing his pride, he braced himself against his own words. "If you put me back in the Book, I'll just continue to mess with it. It won't matter how much you have me beaten for it. I... I'll be too stressed out." he admitted, letting the momentary failure slide for sake of the alibi. "My OCD will override everything else. I'll be of no use to you that way and I'll only serve to agitate you further."

Noah observed him and silently lowered the Book. Its teeth gnashed hungrily. Kid would have scooted away if he had the strength to do so. He slowly maneuvered himself so he was propped up on his elbows. His arms shook painfully, but he did his best to ignore it. "It's also pointless to keep me chained up in _here_." he gave the church a distasteful look. "I mean sure the rose window is wonderfully symmetrical, but I'm not exactly of any use like this either. Besides. I'm unhappy here." he added, deciding to press his luck. "I'm much less likely to give you what you want to hear when I'm upset."

"You're in no position to try to bargain. If I want you chained up, you will remain so." Noah answered flatly. "You are a part of my collection, and therefore you belong to _me_." Kid bristled slightly, but continued on.

"Be that as it may, I am a shinigami. I can endure more than the average person. I can be very difficult." he swallowed, wincing as his throat cracked from being too dry and caked with blood. "I... I want to have the same rights as the rest of you- "

Justin laughed sharply. "You're a _prisoner_ Kid, not a spoiled VIP. Selfish brat!"

"I understand that I won't be trusted. And I don't trust ANY of you." Kid plowed on. "There's... there's a manga I read a year or so back. And... I think it's the most logical course of action." He swallowed roughly again. "In it, a criminal is under close inspection. The detective chains them together to ensure that neither can use foul play. While it's a hindrance, both are able to go about things fairly normally." Noah's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I propose that Noah and I chain ourselves together - he'll be able to keep an eye on me as he likes, and I'll be happier and more likely to comply. Exceptions will be made for changing and using the restroom. I... I wouldn't usually offer something like this, but I know that you won't allow me any other way." his words trailed off uncertainly, regret already surging in. He didn't really want this. But surely Noah couldn't deny the logic. If this would save him from madness, from that hellish abyss, then…

"I agree to your terms." a curious smirk appeared on Noah's lips. Kid's eyes snapped up in alarm. He hadn't expected this. But... it _was_ what he wanted, wasn't it? The collector reached into the Book and fished around for a few minutes before extracting a thin leather cord. In seconds, he was kneeling before Kid, securing a collar around the teen's neck, clipping the end of the _leash_ to a metal band at his wrist. "Satisfied, shinigami?" his look was sickeningly sincere. Disgusting.

"I'm not a DOG!" Kid growled, glaring daggers at the man.

"You never specified _how_ you'd be bound to me. Your mistake." The collector stood and tugged sharply at the leather and chain contraption. "Now come." Kid winced and shakily stood. Uncertain of his own steps, he slowly followed after Noah. Out of that cursed room, to meet something new.

* * *

As it had turned out, the rooms beyond the one in which Kid had been imprisoned in were equally sparse and dull. A couch and a few mismatching chairs had been drug into one of the rooms; Giriko slung over one and half-drunk, Justin sitting more respectably in another. An old set of chairs had been arranged around a low wooden bench, fashioned to look like a dinner table of sorts. The kitchen was empty of any traces of modernism, save for a small crate of beer and instant ramen. A ramshackle garden ran along the back of the abandoned building, ivy now spreading over the majority of its eastern face. Towards the back of the church were a few small cells that had previously been the boarding quarters of the priests that ran the place. In two of the rooms cots remained. Kid soon realized that despite the church's apparent lack of care, that its biggest problem was dust. There weren't many bugs, and, quite thankfully, no rodents. The walls were a bit torn up, but it was tolerable.

Dinner was awkward to say the least. Gopher had cooked the ramen in the original clay oven that stood in the kitchen. The noodles weren't terrible - warm, but with the faint taint of plastic. Kid wolfed them down regardless. Dinner had been served with red wine - presumably something dredged up out of the Book - and, after the second or third glass, Kid was feeling considerably calmer. Not at ease, by any extent, but numbed. Things went well until Clown appeared. The hideous thing stooped through the far south doorway, coming to settle ungraciously at Justin's side. The Kishinist priest smiled at the strange creature and offered it a glass of zinfandel. The demon tool happily accepted and drained the gift, looking for more. Justin laughed his creepy little laugh and returned to the others as if nothing had occurred. Kid, on the other hand, was having a small hernia over the extremely asymmetrical countenance of Clown, and made to leave as quickly as possible.

Noah cocked a brow at him as he arranged to stand. Kid looked back at him questioningly and the collector tugged at the leash, making the shinigami squeak, much to Noah's amusement. Embarrassed, Kid sat back down, trying to look down at the wood grain of the weathered table. Anything to avoid staring at Clown. Yet he could feel those curious amber eyes on him. Noah. He was such an anomaly. He was 'evil' to be perfectly cliché, but at the same time he was different than the many other foes he'd encountered. Medusa was a psychotic bitch - she relied on trickery and her own cleverness to exact her plans. She felt no remorse for her careless abandonment of her own daughter, and she wasn't above manipulation to get what she wanted. Arachne used others as her own pawns. Truly the Spider Queen, she lured everyone into her elaborate web of lies and destroyed her foes by their own minds. Mosquito was obnoxious and self-absorbed with his prior power. He struck hard and fast, and had no apparent morals. They were all 'evil'. But Noah wasn't like any of them.

Noah was quiet and contemplative. He used disturbingly polite words as threats. He was unnerving. He used others to exact his physical aggressions, and watched on silently. He had his moments where he would seem pleasant or fond, and the next second his voice would be cold and demanding. He did listen to what Kid had to say, but he was clever enough to twist the teen's words to fit his reasons the best. He was crafty, that was sure. He was also fearfully strong. Whether that was credit to the Book of Eibon Kid couldn't be certain. All he knew was that the very madness of the Kishin brushed by this man as nothing more than a 'pleasant breeze'. He shuddered. Yes, this man, this _collector_ who aspired to 'become everything' - yet another mystery - was indeed an anomaly.

After a while Noah rose from his makeshift seat and tugged at the leash, indicating that Kid follow him. Slowly the meister rose from the table. As much as he wished to be out of the room - to escape the asymmetrical Clown and the rowdy actions of Giriko and Justin - he yearned to walk away on his own terms. He glared hatefully down at the leather that bound him to Noah. So humiliating… but he refused to acknowledge it. His pride wouldn't allow him. He clung so tightly to his pride these days.

Noah led him down a small hallway before passing through a crumbling doorway into a blooming courtyard. Small cacti crowned with pink flowers stood sentry over tumbled patches of vivid green desert plants and yucca. A colorful array of wildflowers choked overgrown clusters of vervain. The two followed a mosaic-like pathway of rocks that snaked through the neglected garden. Kid looked about at the beautiful scene distractedly. The moon was full and hung high in the night sky. Here, outside of Death City, it looked as normal as it should have been. No face, no drooling blood. A gorgeous celestial white. It bathed everything in a soft glow, as if reaching down from the heavens above to cradle the abandoned garden. The moment was too perfect. Too surreal and perfect. Kid shivered.

"Cold?" Noah asked suddenly, breaking the silence. He must have been paying more attention than the shinigami gave him credit for.

"Only a little." he replied, half-truthfully.

"Well it's only going to get worse; we're in a desert climate." the collector said. They stepped back into another stucco hall. "Makes it hell on the wardrobe." he looked back to glance over Kid's frame. "You haven't much on you, hmn?" The shinigami maintained his silence, taking Noah's words as no more than rhetorical statements. "No, I suppose not." the other concluded. "That will be fixed all in due time." Kid couldn't help but wonder how much 'time' that was supposed to be. Soon he was led to a sharp right, entering in to a large but modest room. An overcrowded desk was crammed against the far left wall, and bordering the right was a rickety excuse for a nightstand beside a single bed. Its frame was made of a light weathered wood. The uneven texture of it suggested it had been carved at one point, but time had smoothed over all the little stories until they were nothing more than mere imperfections along its surface. Something about that made Kid's stomach churn.

Noah broke from his side to rifle through something nearby the door, tugging at the collar around Kid's neck uncomfortably. After a few more insistent tugs, there was a low sigh, and the man returned to stand before him. "Looks like this will be even more troublesome than I realized." he mused, slipping the chain between his fingers. "Think you can contain yourself for a few moments?" his words were chiding but his expression showed none of it, as if he were trying to reason with a child. Without waiting for a response, the collector had disconnected the chain from the band at his wrist and had slipped off to the door. He paused, a hand resting on the frame. "Oh, and I'd watch were I'm stepping were I you." Then the door clicked shut and the shinigami was left to his own devices once more.

Unsure what else to do he made his way to the bed, sitting dubiously at its edge. The mattress wasn't so bad, he decided. Granted, it was nowhere _near_ the caliber of either of his two beds back home, but it was tolerable. Hell _anything_ was bound to feel like a cloud after being strung up for the better part of a day. A sudden exhaustion consumed him and after much debating, he allowed himself the temporary luxury of laying down. Spreading across the entire mattress, he wondered if anything would ever feel as good as this. Already the muscles in his back were protesting at being stretched back into their natural position, and a dull, satisfying ache seeped through him at being properly aligned.

He was sinking. Drowning in a blessed embrace of comfort. Blinking hazily, he struggled to maintain consciousness. He had to remember where he was. But this bed… he moaned softly and rolled onto his side, fighting his body's pleas for stillness. He wasn't safe right now. He had to make a run for it while he could. He could relax later. He had to keep pushing, had to keep…

_CRASH!_ Kid sprung from the bed, wide-eyed. His heart hammered in his chest, hands shaking. "W-What was that?" he posed aloud. His expert golden orbs scanned the room frantically. Finally! There. An upturned book. Surely that hadn't been on the floor when he had entered the room. It was laying open, pages smashed into the floor. He paced over to the novel and replaced it on the desk, looking around for what had disturbed it. Nothing but stillness.

Kid stilled, mustering the weak remains of his Shinigami senses, long since battered down. Feebly he felt the edges of his mind creep out, fingering tentatively through the room, brushing along the walls, the floor. Nothing but warmth and dull vibrations of lifeless objects. Then cold. Ice cold, with electric pain and an odd, lopsided heartbeat. The darkness beneath the bed stirred and within seconds, the only thing within the meister's view was pure obsidian. He fell backwards, biting his tongue to silence a scream. The worm recoiled and struck, turning in midair to sink it's fangs into his shoulder. This time he screamed, the coppery taste of blood dribbling down his chin from where his canines had pierced his own flesh. The worm clamped down tighter, shaking its head methodically back and forth. The shinigami gasped and scooted backwards, pushing desperately against his attacker. Slowly the worm disengaged, and then all too quickly let go, its serrated teeth tearing the gashes farther open.

Kid staggered to his feet and ran to the door. Droplets of blood stained the old wood, his socks already pocked with rusty blotches. He heard it split seconds before he felt it: the swift but silent whip of disturbed air, the near imperceptible sliding of opening maws. The impact knocked him clear sideways, actually bouncing against the flooring, back ramming straight into the wall. He heard it crack and wondered faintly if it was the stucco or his spine. The worm tore from his side and gnawed at his shins, fangs sinking in just above his kneecap. The shinigami kicked violently, using his free foot to stomp against the creature's bulbous head and body, feeling sick as he felt the squishy skin dimple beneath the pressure. Its eyes rolled back to look at him, greenish concentric circles cropping up as it continued to feed.

In a final, frenzied act, Kid curled up and flung his legs out as hard as he could muster, sending wave after wave of raw energy into the worm's body. The creature shrieked as it was hurtled across the room, slamming heavily into the opposite wall, leaving a wet imprint upon the siding. Sideways, the young shinigami watched it curl up like a snake, rearing its head back in a striking position. The green in its eyes was positively glowing now. It was screeching. The sound crashed upon him, sharp and needle pricking to his senses. The door burst open just as its jaws fully unhinged.

"CONFUTO, SILENTIUM, ARCUS, ATQUE OBOEDI IN AETERNUM."

The worm drew back as if hit, then lowered itself dutifully to the ground, ushering the faintest of whimpers. Noah glared at it and slammed the door, tearing off his hat and tossing it onto the desk. His hair was actually a warm brown, not black, as Kid had thought, much longer but roughly cut. Suddenly it was very close for his inspection as the collector knelt down beside him, large, calloused hands prodding him gently, seeking out every damage his pet had inflicted. With an aggravated sigh, he propped the shinigami up and pushed him towards the bed. Kid sat obediently, suddenly much too tired to bother questioning it. Noah knelt on the mattress beside him, brushing the torn fabric of the younger's shirt away with one hand before decidedly removing the garment entirely. The shinigami's skin shone in the moonlight, milky white like the finest porcelain, and garishly purple along the edges of his bite wounds. The skin there puckered, bleeding thinned down to a trickle thanks to his diminishing abilities. Had things been as they should be, he would have healed over completely now. The skin hadn't even begun to knit together yet. Kid hoped it wouldn't scar.

Noah's fingers continued to roam, incessantly circling the wounds. "Where else did he bite you?" his voice was low and silky, eyes trained on the mark at Kid's side.

"Shoulder. Side. Leg." the shinigami replied, eyeing the simpering creature in the corner. His eyelids drooped as he turned away. Too much. He just needed to sleep.

"Good thing I heard you." The collector mused, brushing a little harder. "The thing about these worms is that they need to feed. Don't let them out enough, and they crave blood." He scooted back infinitesimally to point out the light green that was blossoming out into the bruised areas. "While their teeth are sharp, they're used for one thing: poison. They have glands that secrete this substance, you see. Sometimes it's enough to kill a person, but for someone like _you_, well… you can feel it, can't you?" he abruptly cut off.

Why yes, he could, couldn't he? That tingling fire coursing through his veins. That uncomfortably slow thump of his heart. That nagging desire for sleep. The building pressure in his head… Noah was talking again.

"For you it's more like a strong sedative. More of a relaxant. Though of course, I've never seen the effects first hand, so we wouldn't want to risk anything." he murmured. Before the meister had a chance to react, he was being pressed against the bed, his back sinking into pillows and mattress. Noah's warm hands brushed across his exposed chest, an elbow buried into the bed at his side. Amber eyes met his, and for once they seemed different, almost kindly. Then the twin fires had disappeared from vision and the collector lowered his head and began to suck at the wound along his ribs. Kid gasped, arching up into the feeling despite himself. Noah's lips were soft, his free hand dragging down to rest at the shinigami's hip, pushing against it for support. He could feel the stinging poison drag back through his veins, electrifying him. It was as if every nerve was raw and on edge. He shivered as Noah pulled away, staring at the ceiling as the collector deposited the poison over the side of the bed. Free from liquid, it hissed, charring the floorboards below.

There was a tug at Kid's neck and he started. Staring down, he saw Noah holding the chain of his collar. He had practically forgotten about the thing. Those amber eyes had softened even more. "Does it help?" he asked. The meister paused, tuning into the feeling. It felt… clean. Clean in a 'winter fresh' sort of way, the tingling sort of clean one gets after using mouthwash or too strong of a gum.

"Y-yeah." he breathed finally. "Yeah, it's helping."

"Oh, I had hoped so." The collector shifted, now more than half-straddling the younger male, his broad frame towering over Kid's. "It is, after all, the quickest way to cure for bites like this." He inched up and dipped his head, working at the tip of the meister's shoulder. Kid shuddered again. He couldn't help it. Distantly, warning bells were ringing but this was for his safety, wasn't it? For his protection and well-being? It was… right? It was alright. Noah was acting out of compassion, or at least for the preservation of his 'collection'.

Those lips had begun to trace lower, tracing along his décolleté, into the dip of his neck. Then _along_ his neck, with tiny nips of teeth and flicks of tongue. Warm breath ghosted his skin, sending millions of little shivers down his spine that at any other time would have felt like tickles. Not now. As wave after wave of the sensation crashed upon him, Kid moaned as suddenly it all felt so _real_ and so _good_ and then… Noah's hand slipped lower, tugging at his waistband and skillfully undoing the button, lowering the zipper, the curve of his palm brushing him so _sweetly_. It was too real then.

"Stop!" he could feel his own heart racing now. "What are you doing?! Get off!"

Noah pulled away, a hazy confusion floating in his eyes. "What am I…? You said it bit your leg, didn't you?" he asked. "I can't suck out the poison with your pants in the way."

"I-I think I'll be fine." The younger protested.

"I really insist." The other murmured, hands already at work. "I can't have you injured so, not when you were in such mint condition." He sent a rogue smirk Kid's way. Once over his hips, the pants slipped off in a single fluid motion, collecting in a sad pile at the side of the bed. It wasn't as bad now, Kid rationed. Those hands were only at his hips now. Kind of in a comforting way, if that made any sense. "You're really quite the specimen, you know." Noah interjected his thoughts. "Skin so pale and flawless. Perfectly proportioned. A little skinny, granted, but enough to show off your lovely bone structure."

"I-I'm not all that." The shinigami said. For some reason, he couldn't fight down the flush that had begun to spread over his cheeks. Noah took notice and grinned.

"What is it, Kid? No need to be embarrassed, I'm merely stating fact."

"I'm still a bit larger than I should be…" Golden eyes cast aside as if in shame. The collector gave him a suspicious look but held his tongue.

"Can you refute the rest? The mark of your heritage, so stunning against that pure, pure obsidian." Inquiring fingers reached up to toy with the meister's hair, stroking each white Sanzu line fondly.

"They're wretched!" Kid protested. "They-!"

"Only are on half of your head, I see." Noah nodded knowingly. "But have you ever considered that to be lucky? If you can make your perfect symmetrical world, then you'll only disappear within it. Like this-" he twirled a lock between his fingertips. "-you stand out. It makes you different, makes you perfect in your own way."

"I don't want to be different or stand out!"

"I'm different." The collector smiled. "As are you. As are all of those I collect and surround around myself. You know why?" Kid merely shook his head. "Because that makes us memorable, _special_ in ways that no one else can hope to be. Why hide who you are, hmn? Why would you want to be just like everyone else, to fade from memory?"

"But I'm flawed…"

"We're all flawed, Kid. But that just adds to who we are, defines our strengths and what makes us all the more memorable and _great_." Warm breath ghosted across the shinigami's lips as Noah drew their faces level. "Won't you join us, Kid? Join _me_? You'll never have to worry about anything else again. You'll never have to settle for fitting in. You can embrace that special thing that is _you_." His eyes searched for admission, brows drawn pleadingly.

"I… I ah, no. No, what would Chichi-ue say?! I can't abandon him like that, are you crazy?!" the haze cleared from Kid's eyes just in time to see a hideous rage behind Noah's own. Pressure, everywhere. Those curious amber eyes now gleamed with feral rage. The hands had returned, touching, feeling, rasping, _there_.

"He doesn't care about _you_." The collector hissed, grinding his hand firmly. "He's not coming back for you, no one is. No. one. cares."

Tears sprung to the meister's eyes and he wished them desperately away. Not this. Oh God, not _this_ again! Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't falling victim to _this_ once already been bad enough? Scarring enough? Words, voices, _feelings_, eyes that would never leave him, never fail to steal into his once pleasant dreams like hellish shades.

"He DOES care, you bastard! GET OFF!"

Noah laughed darkly, curling his fingers just so, kneading. "Oh, I _will_, thank you."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Tears, damn those tears, they just wouldn't stop. Chichi-ue would have stopped this, would never have cried. He would have just barreled through Noah, through his barriers. No. Chichi-ue would never have fallen for any of this. The flattery, the poison still seeping through his veins that made this all feel so damn _good_. He would never have been captured in the first place.

The hand kept working, Noah's lips now attacking his throat. He wanted this, he wanted this, but oh what he'd give to get AWAY. He was full-out crying by now, but he never heard his sobs. The ceiling was mind numbingly blank, blank like how he was beginning to feel. That fear, disgustingly familiar, welling up in his chest. The silence punctuated only by the sounds he made, sounds he somehow couldn't hear. The constricting fire building up as his body argued with his mind. Overpowered, seduced like some wonton whore. Seduced by mere _flattery_, by the slightest of attentions. The tears came harder.

_The streets were dark, the streetlights flickering lazily in the early morning black. The stars were still painted in the velvet sky, the blood-drooling moon dozing in his perch. It was so late. Rather, so _early_. He was going to get in so much trouble for this. Shifting slightly, he turned Beelzebub onto the next street. The sooner he was back the better. With any luck, no one would have noticed his prolonged absence. Chichi-ue _had_ been working late nights the past few weeks. Of course there would be no evading Liz and Patti, but there was little they could do about that. They were too loyal to rat him out._

_There! A shortcut. Smirking to himself, Kid slid down the alleyway, bounding over wooden crates and trash bins. But then, damn! A side door swung open, emitting four shadows. He screeched to a halt and dismounted. Damn drunks. _

_"Henh… faggot." A slurred call from up ahead. _

_"Awe, look at that. All alone are we?" another male sneered. The group sauntered up to him, and he glared, turning to run. How dare they-! Oh… Kid looked down at himself and paled. That's right. He _had_ gone out raving, hadn't he? He _had_ thrown on the shortest skirt he could find, those piles of Kandi , the loose suspenders, the suggestive legwarmers. He _had_ popped Ecstasy, same as he always did when he managed to sneak away. He _had_ tried to go home with someone already, hadn't he? Stopped by sheer luck by a handsome, well-meaning stranger._

_He toyed with his hair nervously. So they realized he was a guy, alright. But…?_

_"Look at that, boys!" a female crooned. She pointed excitedly at Kid's head, giggling madly. The meister paled sheet white. So the dye had worn out. All the dancing, grinding, sweating, energy… betrayed by his own physical addictions. The dye had faded out. He was caught. He eyed the crates before him nervously. They were so _tall _now that he wasn't aboard Beelzebub. Taking his chances, he slung a leg over one and clambered over. "Awe, don't be so shy, shinigami! Daddy's not gonna stop you." The female laughed heartlessly. "Not gonna stop US." She bounded forward in lightning speed, suddenly before Kid, her booted heel connected with his chest, knocking him clear sideways._

Noah towered fully over him, now using teeth to leave bruising marks all over the other's shoulders and neck. Claiming, dominating. Like Kid could possibly forget. That damned hand still working him, still making him hard, despite the situation. The bastard had never intended to suck out all the poison. Kid was certain of this now. The collector had had other ambitions all along. The damn snake. He squirmed uncomfortably, hating his body for giving into the sensations. Damning Noah for being so damned clever, the incubus.

"Damn tease." The collector growled. "Just give in, I can _feel_ you." He slipped his thumb over Kid's throbbing head. The shinigami gasped.

_"Damn faggot, you tease. Look at how fucked up you are, you'll LOVE this." The largest of the three males smirked at him, holding him against the flagstone by his shoulders. He reeked of alcohol and a disturbing stillness. An Immortal. Overwhelming, unkillable, unstoppable. The male witch snickered to his right, securing his arms, the third male kicking him uncompassionately in the face. Far outnumbered. He squeezed his eyes shut and screamed into the darkness._

"Who gives a damn what your father would say? What he'd do or think?" Noah snarled into him, tearing off his wife-beater and throwing it out of sight. He moved his hand 'mercifully' to tear the shinigami's boxers fully from him, leaving him stark naked save for his socks.

_"Damn bastard. Don't act like you don't know. You call US monsters." The Immortal descended on him roughly, somehow ignoring the blood that wept at their union. The man laughed humorlessly. "HE'S the monster! THE _MURDERER_!"_

"He persecutes, kills, _destroys_, he is no hero, no idol. Why so desperate to join him? No, I'll fix you." He unzipped his jeans, sliding them from his muscular frame.

_"Fucker. Fuck _you_!" he slammed against Kid, sending jarring pain wracking up and down his spine. Spasms, everywhere. The shinigami screamed, only to be kicked soundly in the ribs, knocking all wind out of him. Pain. Oh God, the pain._

"You are a precious treasure, Kid. Don't you see? We can save you, I can fix you, but you're being so _stubborn_." There was that dangerous flicker again. The meister's hips were lifted up, legs fully numb from the poison. He knew what was coming.

_Mind-splitting screams. That lancing pain that refused to stop, just took, and took, and tore, and burned. Like being split open by a hot poker, laid out for the world to inspect with morbid fascination. His legs shook, his belly tight in knots of disgust, hurt, and a sickened sense of pleasure. He needed release. He needed it to end. He needed more. He needed escape._

"N-Noah!" he cried out, desperation forcing more tears down his cheeks. The collector gave pause and stared up at him in rapture. A hunger burned in him then, his own dark desire.

"Say it again." He ordered breathlessly. The shinigami bit his lip, stifling everything welling up within, everything seeping out. Then Noah was inside.

_That burning. It would never stop, would it? No matter of screaming, pleading, begging, crying, NOTHING would end it. Because he was giving them all they could ask for and more. Power. A show. Tight sex. His damned virginity. They wouldn't stop until spent._

_"You're so sexy when you cry, you little slut."_

"You're so beautiful like this. I don't ever want to forget the way you look right now." The collector was ploughing into him, the drug like poison misinterpreting the pain for pleasure. He felt so large, so knowledgeable, so dominant. Kid whimpered and bucked up into him. "Little shinigami slut." Noah laughed lustfully. "See? I told you I would fix you. Isn't this so much better than rules, than what your father wants to turn you into?"

_The Immortal had finished and he was pulled sharply upwards. Forced onto his knees, his legs still so shaky and weak. Sat down on his heels, shivering and mostly naked. Bruises blossoming all along his frame. The witch grabbed a fistful of hair and wrenched his head back, forcing fingers into his mouth. He gagged but fearing more, submitted, slicking them and sucking them. Sucking them like the dirty, lowlife scum he was._

His legs wrapped around Noah's body. That electricity wouldn't allow him to calm down, wouldn't bar him from feeling his heart beat all around and through him. He didn't want it, didn't want this, not like this. Not with Noah, not with any stranger, any flattering man. He knew he was being lied to, used, and manipulated. The tears were evidence enough. Another shiver of raw pleasure.

_And he found that despite his horror and disgust there was something even more startling. He was getting turned on by this current act. His tongue dipped a little too eagerly, he sucked just a little too hard to be wanting to get away. He felt too much stirring _there_ to hate it completely. _

_"Eager little bitch. Daddy would be so disappointed."_

"Your father would just die, wouldn't he?" Noah laughed through thrusts. "If he knew what you were doing?" As if Kid had a choice. "No matter. You're _mine_ now. A part of my collection. You're free here."

'Then why do I feel so trapped?'

"You're special. Beautiful, and untainted."

'Then why do I feel like such a whore?'

"You would never truly belong in Death City."

'Did I ever?'

"He's not going to come for you. You must have been such a disappointment to have been captured."

'You're right; I'll never measure up…'

"But you could never be like him, so fragile and slight."

'I am just a dirty faggot.'

"You don't _belong_ as a shinigami."

'I don't deserve my father's legacy. He would disown me if he knew the truth.'

"You belong right here, with me."

'I'm not worth anything more than this. To be used and spent.'

"I'll make you something."

'You've made me something already, haven't you? And there's no going back for me, is there?'

"You'll see that this is the only life for you."

'I was a fool to think I could ever be more than this. I will never compare. Never.'

"Obey, and you'll never want for anything."

'You won't let me go anyway.'

"You'll love being mine."

'You don't know love. You will never know love. I may never kno-'

"N-NOAH!"

He hadn't meant to let it slip. He didn't want to encourage it. But when the other man gasped, thrust so hard and hit that place, he couldn't fully regret it. He was so full and so tired. So done. So in need of release. So when the collector told him to say it again, the name tumbled from his lips. The best orgasm of his life should never have been wasted on this. He shivered, moaned, felt the pleasure everywhere. The tears would no longer flow, not when he felt the need for them most. The ceiling again. Blank. Like he was becoming. Hollow and dirty like his soul, his body no more than an ugly vessel of lust. When the other had finished, he had never felt so shallow and cheated in his life.

Rape wasn't supposed to be enjoyable. Rape wasn't supposed to be influenced by sweetening poison that made every breath, every sigh a wave of spiraling ecstasy that begged to be fueled. It was dirty, so low. These tricks, these manipulations. It was just like before, just sugar coated with empty words. And while he knew it for everything it was, the shinigami couldn't help but buy every whisper.

Kid lay silent as Noah ushered a soft groan and moved off of him, rolling over to the unoccupied side of the bed. It creaked at his movement, and then fell quiet. The collector's breathing quickly slowed to shallow tones as he drifted off to sleep. Kid remained dormant, starting up at the stucco ceiling in shock. Somewhere beyond this rotting cell a lark was serenading the morning's first light. His golden eyes flickered, unseeingly. The center of his chest felt leaden and hollow at the same time. Deeming it safe, he rolled onto his side, wincing as muscles stung in protest. Noah had left a watch on the bedside table. Trembling fingers reached out and pushed the Indiglo button. A lump formed in the young shinigami's throat as he recoiled and curled in on himself. He didn't recognize the tears that slid across his face until the salt caressed his lips. With a shuddering breath, he fell into an uneasy sleep, deciding that this was the worst birthday he'd yet to suffer.


	2. Reason Two

**Raison D'être**

**By Kawaii n Junsui**

**Reason Two**

**Collection**

"_Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—_

_Because the Holy Ghost over the bent_

_World broods with warm breast and with ah! Bright wings."_

"God's Grandeur" Gerard Manley Hopkins 1918

* * *

Kid slept lightly—if the pain and exhaustion had not been present within him, he would've spent the entire night awake, golden eyes wide and heart pounding. However, the deep-rooted sense of _brokenness_ had been enough to drive him into a nearly nonexistent sleep. Even as he rested—if it could have even been called that—something within his chest squeezed and shuttered horribly.

Kid awoke slowly, the light seeping in from the tall windows in the room coaxing his eyes open. Nearly horrified to check, the shinigami rolled over, relieved to see that Noah was no longer beside him. Slowly, he shifted into a sitting position and quickly regretted the decision. A sharp ache shot up from his core to his spine and he fell feebly to the creaking mattress once again. Chains clinked softly as he curled unto himself and recognized that he was still wearing the collar, and was now chained to the bed post. Disgust ripped through his body. He felt like a mockery of a shinigami, chained to a post like a misbehaved animal rather than a living being.

Disgust.

He exhaled shakily, his heart pounding against his ribs as the pain settled in once more. The tears pounded at the base of his eyes, though he refused to let them fall. He was pitiful. Here he was, completely disgusted for having allowed himself to be violated in a moment of weakness, and yet he was still playing the part of a broken little animal all too well.

He released another shuttering breath, this one followed by a whimper. The pain in his chest was too great, and he sought some sort of comfort... _anything_. He felt so thoroughly broken that not even symmetry could soothe the embarrassment, the sheer _shame_—

Placing his face between his knees, Kid took another deep breath, attempting to force himself to calm. There had to be something he could hold onto to help dull the burning feelings, if only for a moment.

Memories of his friends were too painful to grasp onto. He could _see_ to looks of horror on their faces, hear Maka's soft gasp and comforting words, '_I'm so sorry. Couldn't you do anything?_'

Not even memories of Liz or Patti, his surrogate sisters for nearly a year could help to dull the pain, and the very thought of his father….

Kid whimpered again, screwing his eyes shut. He would be—no, _was_ a disgrace. How would he be able to look his honorable father in the eyes after this?

After being unable to find any sort of soothing thought, Kid allowed his mind to drift. A small tune began to repeat in the back of his head, until he lightly mouthed the words, breathing every syllable of the tune that had followed him from before he could remember:

"_Lalla… Lalla… Lalla… aut dormi, aut lacte_…"

Long shining sweeps of jet black hair, like his but untainted by the accursed stripes. The smell of tea leaves hanging in the air as her soft chest rumbled with his lullaby. Kid grasped the memory from long ago and held it close, the lullaby repeating again and again in his head as warm tears finally rolled down his cheeks.

* * *

"Hold still Patti." Liz commanded gently as she attempted to button her squirming sister's white coat. The younger girl giggled and began to fasten the buttons on the top of her coat.

"See, Onee-san! This way I'll be able to get dressed twice as fast!" Declared the smaller blonde as she pulled away from her sister and did a small pirouette. Liz gave half-hearted laugh, scratching sheepishly at the back of her head as Patti flounced towards the door.

"Just don't get too wet, okay?" The taller girl called after her sister, groaning upon hearing the door slam. Liz shook her head and crossed the entry hall, watching from one of the tall windows as Patti spun through the rain and leapt into puddles. The Deatheagle turned to the large family crest upon the wall; situated below it were four white candles with ever-burning flames arranged in perfect balance on either side of the portrait.

The towhead made a small noise in the back of her throat and walked over to the painting, precariously inspecting the height of the candles. It just felt wrong not having Kid there to scour every inch of the house for perfect symmetry every morning. As much as Liz hated it, she had grown accustomed to the routine after spending so long at her neurotic meister's side.

The teen jumped upon seeing an unfamiliar person breeze by her through the entry hall. He was short with messy brunette hair and was now hurriedly buttoning the top of his shirt. Upon seeing Liz, he gave a small shout of surprise and forced a smile before dashing out the door.

Liz turned and watched the strange young man race past her sister, head bent in shame as he plowed through the rainy streets. Moments later, the door was thrown open and Patti peeked her already-soaked head of blonde hair into the entry hall.

"Who was that, Onee-san?" She quipped innocently. Liz felt something in her chest twist before forcing a small smile.

"Probably just one of Shinigami-sama's friends." She improvised. "Go ahead to school. I need to talk to him, since he's actually home for once."

"Ooooh. Okies dokies, then!" Beamed the youngest Thompson sister before she slammed the door behind her with such exuberance that the family crest shook upon the wall. Cursing Kid, Liz forced herself to tilt the portrait back into perfect symmetry before starting deeper into the estate.

As Kid made sure the mansion was up to his high expectations in symmetry and cleanliness, there was usually no need for any sort of cleaning staff at the estate. However, in his absence, the lush building had taken a sharp turn towards disarray. Patti's coloring books and various kodomo manga were strewn about the living room, accompanied by the contents of Liz's cosmetic bag arranged into neat little piles according to color coding. An oversized black hoodie tossed over the back of a chair in the dining room showed that even Shinigami-sama had added to the mess.

Liz finally reached the door to her surrogate father's office, grimacing at the calendar tacked to it that still read December 2008. Politely, she wrapped on the door, unsurprised to hear an instantaneous "Come in!"

The interior of Shinigami-sama's office was enough to give Kid nightmares for months. The wall opposite his desk was completely devoted to a giant whiteboard covered in barely-legible notes and doodles, a large chunk of which was covered by a demotivator featuring a sopping wet cat with 'FAIL' written below it in bold, white letters. The other three walls were covered with an array calendars and hand-written notes. Shinigami-sama himself was seated at the throne of disarray: his desk, where a dozen framed photos of past DeathScythes and an old black laptop floated in a sea of what could only have been described as a clusterfuck of papers.

"Hiya Lizzy, what's up?" Grinned the Shinigami. From any other person's point of view, he could have been Kid's older brother, with dark black hair falling in elegant layers around his face, brushing his shoulders. Three solid bands of white encircled the top of his head like a triple tiered crown. His topaz eyes glittered with intensity, much brighter and more open than his son's, which were usually narrowed in scrutinizing concentration.

"Good morning Shinigami-sama." Liz forced a small smile as the tall man hopped up, adjusting his heavy black cloak around his neck.

"Aren't you gonna be late for school?" He inquired, beginning to rifle through his small ocean of papers.

"Patti already left. I just…" Liz trailed off, glancing out of the corner of her eyes nervously. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, okay." He agreed cheerfully, extracting his mask from beneath his papers. "Fire away."

"Who was that just leaving?" Liz forced herself to ask, hands balling tightly into fists.

"Just a friend, just a friend!" Grinned the shinigami without missing a beat. He reached out to softly rustle Liz's hair. "You wanna walk with me to school today Lizzy? It's not a common occurrence I get to leave home at the same time as you kids."

'_It's not a common occurrence you're even home to leave at all…_' The blonde thought bitterly. "No, it's okay." She forced a smile, hands beginning to tremble slightly. "I'm not too keen on walking to school with a giant cartoon character."

Shinigami-sama laughed and mussed his adopted daughter's hair once more before pulling her into an unexpected embrace. "You're a good kid, Lizzy." He sighed, squeezing her lightly. "Take care of your sister, alright?"

"Sure thing, Shinigami-sama." Liz nodded, briefly returning the embrace before turning to leave.

* * *

Kid jumped as the door was suddenly thrown open. His heart began to race at the thought of seeing Noah again, so soon after what had happened the night before. Upon seeing Justin enter the room, the tension in Kid's shoulders seemed to ebb away before the familiar feelings of shame and humiliation flowed back over him. To have his childhood friend look upon in such a state—the very notion of it was unbearable. The pale teen quickly seized one of the light sheets and pulled it over his frame, forcing his face away from the blonde.

"Please don't look at me." The pitiful request escaped his lips before he even had a chance to catch it. Kid heard Justin scoff lightly before the sound of clinking chains met his ears and he was pulled roughly to meet the guillotine's dark blue eyes as he removed the chain and wound it around his hand.

"Make yourself presentable." Justin ordered, throwing a bundle of clothing onto Kid's lap and setting a glass of water on the nightstand beside the bed before leaving the room, slamming the door behind him. Kid sat up, studying the clothing in his hands: a pair of plain black slacks and a white dress shirt. Relieved to see his own clothing rather than some sort of humiliating maid garb, Kid gingerly pulled himself from bed and began to dress. He hissed as his back gave a violent spasm upon hopping into the familiar slacks. Though flexible and remarkably quick at healing—even by a Shinigami's standards—Kid's body was still unused to being contorted into uncomfortable positions, and his muscles ached in protest to the movement.

After he finished dressing, Kid promptly sat back down on the bed, cradling his head in his hands as he struggled to hold back tears once more. He could _not_ cry again. He'd allowed himself his moment of weakness, and now that all was said and done, he had to put on his bravest face and meet Noah blow-for-blow.

Kid finally looked up, taking the glass of water into his hands. The cup was a perfectly symmetrical pub glass and settled something within him. A tiny sense of hope flickered throughout him, wondering if his old friend had left it in an odd gesture of compassion. Chest so full, he hardly regarded the notion, finding himself frighteningly thirsty. Pressing the edge of the cup to his lips, he decided to observe his surroundings.

There was nothing in the room except for the bed, a worn old desk with several books strewn upon it, and two high, thin windows. There were several doors as well, the one Justin had entered through that was unmistakably the entrance to the sitting room, a second that was left open to reveal a cramped bathroom, and a third with a tiny window in it that lead outside. Downing several gulps of water, Kid's eyes fell back upon the books carelessly tossed onto the desk, and the burning need to arrange them properly welled up in his stomach before imploding in on itself. Golden eyes settled on the largest book settled next to the complete collections of Lewis Carroll as Kid approached the disheveled desk.

Carefully he extended his hand towards the cover emblazoned with an embellished Golden 'S', words hastily scrolled over the cover in sloppy handwriting: "_They lived a life of fait, and now EIBON you're reaping the rewards by Joel_"

Kid recoiled, recalling the strange set of teeth that had appeared from within the book before he had been… _acquired_. Slowly but surely, he reached out towards the book again, flinching when his hand finally touched the heavy leather cover. However, the book did not spring to life and attempt to gnaw off his hand. Sighing, Kid set down the glass and plucked the heavy tome from the weathered desk, blinking as something crushed between the pages fluttered to the floor. Kneeling down, he scooped up the piece of parchment paper, which depicted a rough ink sketch of a startled looking young woman next to a wiry, grinning young man. He flipped the parchment over, startled to find the same handwriting that had been branded onto the demon spring—the script of the true Eibon: '_For my Lucia. With love, Eibon._'

Kid hastily shoved the piece of paper into the back of the book. He'd have time to study it later, especially if—

The Book of Eibon suddenly felt very heavy within the Shinigami's hands. Noah could not have possibly just left the book alone in the room with Kid, expecting the teen to keep curious hands away from it. There had to be a catch. A trap.

His heart fluttered against his rib cage as he held the book to his chest. Noah was nowhere to be found and Kid could have summoned Beelzebub, kicked down the back door, and flown away with the book before any of the other four could react. Hell, he could've _blasted a hole in the goddamn wall_ if he'd had the energy or intent. Everything seemed too perfect. Noah was far too clever to merely leave the Book of Eibon alone in a room with an emotionally distraught Shinigami who was able to spot at least twenty different means of escape.

Kid quickly weighed the options in his head. He could either escape through the church itself, passing up a guillotine, a drunken chainsaw, a jealous sociopath, and a crazed collector; or he could easily slip out the back. That is, if they weren't outside. It could very well be that Justin was the only one indoors, while the others were out in the back of the church. Or possibly Justin could be back there, too, expecting him to escape the easiest feasible way. Kid rocked slightly, hugging the book to his chest ever tighter. He was over thinking. There was a simple way he hadn't recognized before in his panic. He could just check through one of the windows over the bed.

Depositing the book gently on the bed, Kid crossed the mattress over to the windows, craning his head to observe the surroundings. Dessert fanned out in all directions past the church; and Kid's sensitive eyes were able to spot a freeway somewhere in the distance. However, there did not appear to be anyone behind the building.

Kid swallowed nervously, gathering The Book of Eibon into trembling hands before hopping off of the bed. He squeezed the heavy book to his chest, inhaling deeply. It was now or never.

Shakily extending his right hand to his side, Kid summoned Beelzebub in a mass of black smoke. The dark tendrils it emitted unfurled into grim-looking skulls. Taking another deep breath, the young shinigami seized the handle of the door and stepped onto the hover board, which bobbed slightly under his weight.

'_On the count of three—_no_! That's asymmetrical!_ _On the count of eight, then_.' He decided silently, beginning the countdown in his head. '_One… two… three… four… five… six… seven…_'

"Eight." He breathed. The door flew open and he was free, the hot, dry air filling his lungs—

Something large and heavy came into contact with his side. As Kid twisted through the air, Beelzebub evanescing away into smoke, golden eyes fell upon a tan, lithe figure perched on the roof of the building.

_No._

He should have considered it.

_No._

The Book of Eibon was flying out of his grasp, landing on the head of the ebony worm that had knocked him from his board.

_No._

How could he have been such an incredible _idiot_?

Before the shinigami had made contact with the desert floor, the tail of the worm had constricted around his chest, adding to the burning, pressing sensation that was already present. Arms pinned to his sides, Kid knew better than to struggle against the bizarre creature, lest risk being crushed.

Noah's chiding words were a blur. Kid could not bear to force himself to stare into those amused amber eyes. Shame and regret washed over him, pressing him tighter than the binds of the worm's tail. Eventually, other voices were added to the conversation. Discussing. Arguing. Kid struggled to keep track of what was being said, of what was happening, but it was almost as if he had been drugged. Or maybe it was just his own self-loathing clouding his mind.

_WHAM_.

Kid gasped, resurfacing from the haze as he felt the jarring force of Justin's hand making contact with his side. Everything blurred back into focus; the first thing he saw was Gopher's mirthful face. His honey-colored eyes were _gloating_.

"Good to see you're back with us _Shinigami_." Gopher smirked, his words dripping with ire. He pulled back his hand and struck Kid across the face. The younger boy released a shaking breath and tugged at his hands, unsurprised to find that they were shackled above him once again by the same, innocent page. His eyes scoured the room, finding Justin and Gopher looming in the foreground. Beyond Justin's shoulder were Noah and Giriko, both propped up against the furthermost wall. The chainsaw swirled the contents of a bottle of Jägermeister, smirking purposely over at the bound shinigami. Noah himself was looking up at the familiar stained glass window, eyes lost.

"Did you suppose we'd let you get away that easily?" Inquired Gopher, casually brushing a lock of dark hair behind his ear. He tugged his lips into a benevolent smile. Something twisted within the pit of Kid's stomach. "Pathetic."

Suddenly, the other boy's hand was at Kid's throat, sharp nails penetrating his skin. Kid stared blankly up into honey-colored eyes; claret spokes stemmed from dark pupils, jutting under dark topaz rings. Gopher lowered his face dangerously close to Kid's, still smirking in a disturbingly placid manner. "You haven't had much to say, Shinigami." He commented airily. "Would you care to offer an explanation to Noah-sama as to why you were caught attempting to steal The Book of Eibon?"

Kid opened his mouth to reply, almost expecting an explanation to fall out. But there was nothing—merely a soft noise his throat made in a struggle to put together something coherent. His mind was still in a haze, and everything felt oddly disconnected.

Gopher dug his nails in deeper, eliciting a pained noise from the shinigami before him. Suddenly, he tore his hand away, leaving deep gashes in his nails' wake, and then his hands were fisted in Kid's hair, pulling violently, before slamming Kid's head against the marble pillar behind him. Kid's vision briefly flashed white and he jerked violently; his chest beginning to heave.

"So it's finally beginning to set in? I was surprised you'd lasted that long, Kid." Noah's voice floated from somewhere above. It was almost like Kid was in a hole, though strangely enough, it was somewhere _above_ his body. Gopher was glaring down at him.

"Wh-what…?" He finally managed to ask, praying that the horrific sensations would come to a stop.

"Be specific when you're speaking to Noah-Sama." Gopher snarled. Kid felt his head connect with marble once more and he convulsed again.

"Ketamine. I'm sure you're familiar with it." Noah answered placidly from the place outside of the hole that Kid's mind had become. The shinigami nodded distantly, willing himself to focus on something—he could only see Gopher now, still glowering down at him.

"…date-rape drug." Kid slurred, his head lulling to one side. He allowed the information to sink in, his heart palpitating against his chest. Every beat felt exaggerated, as if there was a fist slamming against his ribs, each beat echoing into the next. "No… God, no…"

"What are you begging for, Shinigami?" Gopher rasped into his ear in a dark whisper. "Here I was under the impression you were above begging."

Suddenly, his hands were loose, and he was being whirled around. Every image seemed to lag—the tall ceiling, the stained glass window with the morning light dripping into the church, dark colors stretching across the floor, and finally an inverted view of Justin's retreating shoes.

Chest heaving, Kid attempted to figure his position. He was definitely on his back now, his head bent backwards over a marble step. His hands were still bound to the page, now connected to the step below, stretching his body uncomfortably over the cold, hard floor. He finally spotted Noah's dark form, still propped up against the wall. Suddenly, he felt hands over his chest and blinked warily, wondering how Noah was touching him from so far away.

But the hands were too small, too light. Slowly, slowly, Kid struggled to raise his head from the step; light gold eyes met honey-colored ones. The garnet spokes of Gopher's iris were pouring wine into the rest of his eyes, filling them like the top of a round goblet. The taller boy's hands were considerably cooler than Noah's. Soft, cool hands. Like the powdery wrapper of a wonton.

Kid gasped softly as the fragments of information snapped into a conclusion. Gopher was going to rape him. He laughed weakly, shaking his head as his brain was assaulted by another mantra of 'no's. The slim sociopath snaked over Kid's frame, bloodstained fingers threading into his hair as he straddled the smaller boy's chest. Kid allowed his head to lull back, listening to the distant sounds of Gopher fiddling with his own zipper as Noah's inverted image looked on hungrily, amber eyes devouring the sight before him. Just outside of his hole of existence, he could hear Gopher eliciting soft noises.

"What're you doing…?" Kid forced out. Gopher laughed softly, nails sinking into Kid's throat once more; his tongue followed suit, spreading the precious blood over Kid's neck.

"I'm getting myself hard." He explained, a raspy edge to his voice. "You expect me to get aroused at the sight of your pale, scrawny body? You really _are_ pathetic. Now Shinigami, raise your head."

Kid struggled to pull his head up from the step, an odd shudder running over him at the sight of the other boy stroking himself off into his face, dark slacks pooling over his narrow hips. His cock was slightly flushed, just beginning to grow hard in his own hand.

"You're going to suck me off." Gopher informed him dryly, placing his hands on a step below Kid's head, curling around him. His hand dug into Kid's striped tresses once more as he pressed his face towards his growing erection.

Kid gasped violently, attempting to breathe, already struggling to do so without the added weight of Gopher upon his chest. The taller boy's grip on his hair tightened dangerously and, biting back tears, Kid wrapped his lips around his dick. It felt odd in his mouth at the unnatural angle Gopher was at, and Kid was unable to take the entirety of it into his mouth. However, the caitiff continued to force his manhood in deeper until it was pressed uncomfortably against the back of Kid's throat. Gopher pulled away slightly, thrusting back in. Kid winced and rolled his lips around his teeth, frightened of being punished for harming Gopher's member.

"You're horrible at this." Snarled Gopher, though his voice was uneven. "Are you just going to sit there and let me fuck your mouth? I told you to _suck me off_." He gave a violent yank at Kid's hair and the gun-wielder righted himself, pulling his head up as much as he could to allow Gopher access into his throat. The other boy made a slight noise of pleasure as he pulled out of Kid's mouth, allowing the drugged boy to suckle at the tip of his cock. Kid closed his eyes and breathed deeply, attempting to pull himself out of the receding haze. His blood had finally identified the drug and was beginning to fight back.

Though he was far from out of the dark.

Kid flicked his tongue against the slit of Gopher's tip, drawing a moan from the dominant boy. He released Gopher's cock entirely and lapped at the sensitive underside, tasting the warm precum dripping down his shaft. Outside of the shallow hole, Noah made a noise.

'_You're probably getting off on this_.' Kid thought bitterly. '_You fucking pervert_.'

"That's enough." Gopher panted, sliding down Kid's body once more. Dread pooled in Kid's stomach as he felt the teen's hand brush against his zipper, and he automatically keened against the feeling. He regretted immediately at the sound Gopher's dark chuckle. "You're actually aroused, aren't you? Just from sucking my cock, you wanton little slut?"

Kid wanted to say no. He couldn't.

"I wonder how I should go about doing this." Gopher mused, pulling away Kid's slacks and boxers in one slow tug. "Should I fuck you slow? Or fast and hard?"

Kid was silent, he merely looked away from the other boy, focusing on regaining his mind from the drug. Suddenly, one of Gopher's hands closed around his neck, the other sinking nails—no, claws—into his thigh and wrenching it over his shoulder.

"You have no dignity left, Shinigami. Should I replace the collar to remind you of that?" Gopher snarled softly. "So when I ask you a question, you should REPLY."

"NO!" The word left Kid's lips before he could stop himself as Gopher thrust into him roughly. Stinging hot pain stabbed through his core and his eyes finally met Gopher's, though they were not the same. Bright scarlet now bored into him, marking Gopher completely inhuman.

"What was that?" He hissed, pulling out and thrusting back into Kid roughly. "I thought I heard you speak against my orders, Shinigami. TELL ME AGAIN."

"FUCK!" Kid screamed as Gopher plowed into him again and again. Though smaller and less powerful than Noah, Gopher was considerably driven to harm Kid as much as he physically could. There was more than just malice behind his actions. So much more fueling him to _hurt_ and to _fuck Kid raw._

"You're fucking worthless." Gopher growled, dropping his hold on Kid's thigh and reaching around to wrap both hands around his throat, pressing his clawed thumbs into the Shinigami's windpipe. Kid grasped onto Gopher's hand, attempting to pry them away. Gopher smirked as he continued to fuck him, lowering his face to Kid's. "Though I love to see you struggling for breath." A shudder ran through his body and into Kid's as his focus began to falter. "I love to see you broken and conquered. Just like you _should_ be."

Finally, he released Kid's throat and braced himself on the step above Kid's head. The smaller boy gasped for air, coughing violently into the crook of Gopher's neck. Another tremble spread throughout the taller boy and he began rolling into Kid slower, bringing down the erratic pace. Kid whimpered, his body finally beginning to feel the effects of being bent into such an odd position. He wished Gopher would finish. He couldn't have had much time left after all that had happened thus far.

"_Shit_!" Gopher swore, his chest ramming against Kid's as his palms slid against the tile, ripping the page in two. Kid's eyes widened as he realized his hands were free and he struggled against Gopher, sliding his head off of the step and laying his chin on his adversary's shoulder. Suddenly, a single word rumbled through Gopher's chest:

"_Noah-sama_…"

Something horrible within Kid twisted once more, and he felt bitter tears prickle at the base of his eyes. Why? Why should he feel so betrayed that Gopher was...

That Gopher was obviously thinking of being fucked by Noah while he was fucking Kid: rolling softly into him, claws now sinking softly into his shoulders. Above Kid's shoulder, his sanguine eyes were obviously locked with amber—and Kid felt betrayed. He didn't love Gopher, but he felt betrayed.

And at the same time, he felt as if there was a flicker of a sick sense of hope as he fell away from Gopher. The other hovered above him, hands braced on either side of his bruised and beaten form as he started deeply, adoringly_, lustfully_ into Noah's eyes. In Gopher's mind, Kid was no longer below him. Noah was behind him, _caressing him_, hand secured around his servant's cock.

Kid seized the tiny, aching spark of hope within his chest.

Slowly, possibly even timidly, he reached out to brush his fingers against Gopher's cheek, caressing him as he pulled him down to meet light gold eyes.

"Look at me." He directed softly.

Gopher stared, eyes widened in vague awe. He did not struggle against Kid's feeble grip upon his cheek. He did not strike Kid or push him away. He did as Kid said, their eyes locked as he continued to thrust into him, a strange sense of surreality washing over them both. Kid gasped softly, finally submitting to the carnal pleasure that had been building between them.

"I'm going to cum…" He moaned, reaching between them with both of his hands to stroke at his need. "Help me… please?"

Gopher continued to look back down at Kid in a strange state of awe. Begging golden eyes stared back up at him, now squinting in the waves of ecstasy crashing down upon them. Seizing handfuls of Kid's hair, Gopher slammed into him, drawing forth a scream of pain and rapturous delight that drove him into the first violent waves of his own orgasm, Kid following behind as he trembled violently and released over the taller boy's stomach.

Moments later, when Gopher collapsed upon Kid—the two of them a pile of limbs and flesh— they were merely two exhausted boys. Just a pair of boys finished fucking, laying on each other in a horrible mess of hormones and envy and a sense of complete and utter _brokenness_.

And minutes after that, Gopher pulled out of Kid and promptly slapped him across the face.

* * *

When Kid finally came to, he was thankful to find that someone had moved him onto a couch. Long, yellow rays of light stretched out from one of the tall windows, filling the room with an afternoon haze. Kid blinked the offending light out of his eyes and rolled over, whimpering when the combined effects of Noah and Gopher's torture assaulted his body. This time around, he was far too mentally and physically fatigued to even care about making such a pathetic noise. Kid pressed the balls of his palms over his eyes, expelling a heavy sigh. His head was still spinning and pounding, as if he had just come out of an incredible high mixed with an awful hangover. From within another room, he could hear the four others discussing important matters in hushed tones.

"—refuse to leave Noah-sama." Gopher was saying, his voice firm and vaguely agitated. "Infiltrating Shibusen would be quite a foolish move at this point. I would suggest a direct attack. Get Maka Albarn alone, and—."

"Without her Deathscythe?" Noah retorted. "Unlikely."

"He does have a point, you know." Justin said thoughtfully. "It may be best to befriend her first. That way, under her complete trust, you can get her alone and finish the job clean-cut. I find its best not to get too many people involved."

"Oh yeah, running like a fucking pussy the second you're outnumbered is always gonna be the best option." Giriko snorted. "I say the waffle's right—."

"Do NOT call me a waffle."

"—a direct attack is a _much_ better idea. Who the fuck cares if she has her little stick there with her?" There was a pause. Kid assumed Giriko was taking a swig of Jägermeister. "Hell, she was no match for me let alone a bazooka-slash-camby-thing-whatever."

"Cambion." Gopher corrected, obviously irritated. Kid's eyes widened. Cambion. Where had he heard that before?

"Right, right. Whatever." Giriko continued. "It took this one over here to get them out of trouble—and it wasn't just that scythe kid and his girlfriend, either. There was this other kid, too. She… he… it. I 'unno. Well, whatever it was, I don't think it's following them around anymore. Does it really matter if the kid's a deathscythe, anyway? I mean, _this_ guy's a deathscythe and we were pretty evenly matched."

An airy laugh trilled throughout the air and Kid shivered despite himself. "I beg to differ." Justin cooed. Kid could almost see the disgustingly sincere smile across his face. The image of cold indigo eyes boring into him as he hid fruitlessly below thin sheets flashed through his mind. Something awful clicked into place into his aching mind. It had been Justin who had brought him the water laced with ketamine.

The shinigami winced, shaking his head. "Idiot." He mumbled to himself. "You complete _idiot_."

Kid buried his face in his hands, taking several deep breaths. He was still on edge from all that had transpired earlier, but with the effects of the drugs washed from his system he felt as if he was thinking clear for the first time.

Prying himself from the couch, Kid crossed the room, desperately seeking a bathroom. Though he was considered a God by many, his body still had its limitations; he was lethargic, dehydrated, and in great need of a piss.

Kid wondered into a foyer, running his hands along a pleasantly cool wall as he inched sideways towards a potential bathroom. The walls here were made of a lovely, pure-white tile, which had somehow been spared spider web-like cracks that usually came with aging. It was a comforting sight and feeling for Kid to see the foyer's wall, completely symmetrical and unmarred. Almost like God had finally taken pity on his battered form and said: "Yea, Kid. You have suffered greatly, and your reward is a pretty, pretty symmetrical wall!"

"…I am losing my mind." Kid concluded, finally coming across the bathroom door. Reaching for the knob, he winced, glancing back to count the tiles that he had touched. Upon finding them a satisfactory even number, he promptly slipped into the lavatory.

Upon finishing, the teen took a moment to assess his reflection. The first thing he encountered was the lines of Sanzu, having tainted his otherwise flawless hair since he was very small. Long, pale fingers slid over one of the ivory stripes, tracing where they would one day be potentially connected. The image of his honorable father sans the cartoonish kakuremino he usually donned flashed across his mind's eye. The elder shinigami had always been the image of perfection to his son: tall, lithe and pale with three flawlessly symmetrical lines encircling his head.

Comparing himself to the image of his father, Kid felt small and weak. Dark circles were beginning to shade into existence underneath his eyes; bright red scars and fading yellow bruises littered the usually faultless, pale skin where Gopher had attempted to strangle him earlier. Dried blood had seeped out either side of his mouth and down the back of his neck. Trembling hands grasped at the faucet and Kid splashed cold water onto his face and neck, desperately scrubbing at the scars that he knew would not wash away.

"_You expect me to get aroused at the sight of your pale, scrawny body_? _You really _are_ pathetic_." Gopher's words echoed through his mind. "_You're horrible at this. Are you just going to sit there and let me fuck your mouth_?"

Kid shook his head violently, attempting to scrub the caked-on blood off of his scalp and the back of his neck. His head ached violently in response to his rough touch; but it didn't matter at this point. The imperfections had to come _off_. They were unsymmetrical. Ugly. Disgusting.

Like him.

Pink washed down the sink, mixed with grotesque flecks of dried blood. Kid watched the tainted water drain from his hair with macabre fascination, gripping the sides of the sink.

He wasn't even fit to be _fucked_. Not even in the rawest, most violating sense of the word. Gopher had watched Noah nearly the entire time—

Kid slid to his knees, bracing his forehead against the cold porcelain sink as dry sobs wracked his body. Even through the drug-induced haze, it had hurt. Even though it was rape, it had hurt. Unfuckable. Undesirable. Water dripped down his face and neck as he squeezed the side of the sink.

"What are you doing?"

Kid jumped, whirling his head around so fast that he was sure he'd nearly given himself whiplash. Noah stood in the doorway of the bathroom, one eyebrow cocked as he assessed the disgruntled shinigami pressed up against the base of the sink. Kid quickly composed himself, shoving several days worth of physical and mental exhaustion into the back of his mind.

"I was just cleaning myself up…" He mumbled. Noah raised both of his eyebrows this time.

"On the floor?"

Kid responded with silence.

Seconds later, large hands had seized him by the shoulders, pulling him to his feet. Kid flinched away, frightened of being struck. Noah merely smoothed over the front of his dress shirt to remove the unsightly rumpled appearance, much slower than Kid was comfortable with, and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"The floor is no place for something as rare as you, Kid." He smiled, tilting the shinigami's chin towards him with his thumb and index finger. Something rumbled angrily within Kid.

"That's not what you said this morning when Gopher had me pinned to the floor." He growled. Noah pulled away, seeming slightly taken back by the comment. Kid reasoned that it was because the man had expected him to remain a broken mess, incapable of speaking up. A surge of triumph shot through his chest and he fought back a tiny smirk.

"This morning?" Noah inquired, slipping one arm around Kid's shoulder as he led him out of the bathroom. "This morning you were passed out on the couch, Kid."

Kid bristled, eyes flashing as his pulse picked up. "Liar." He growled. "You watched while Gopher did that to me. You watched and you and _enjoyed_ it, you sick fuck."

Noah smirked and laughed softly as they traveled back into the sitting room. "I'm sure your mother would love to hear such words coming out of your mouth."

"My mother is _dead_." Kid nearly snarled; temper flaring at the mention of the woman.

"My condolences."

"Go fuck yourself."

Noah released Kid's shoulder, stepping in front of him and taking him by the shoulders with falsely gentle intent. Amber eyes bored into aureate. "Is that any way to talk to your master?"

Kid looked away sharply and refused to reply. Moments later, Noah brushed the side of his lips with his thumb. "Well?"

"What did you mean that Gopher didn't rape me this morning?" Kid asked, quickly changing the subject. "Are you trying to make me think it didn't happen? Because if you haven't noticed," He stopped to gesture at the marks on his neck. "Even though I'm a shinigami, it doesn't mean I can't scar. I still have the proof right here on my skin."

Noah smiled. "I said you were passed out on the couch this morning. I said nothing about yesterday morning."

Confusion sunk into Kid's stomach as he blinked several times and finally turned his face to meet Noah's eyes. "Yesterday?"

"It's the fourteenth. You've been asleep for an entire day." He explained nonchalantly. "Most likely from the fatigue. I'm surprised you slept that long."

Kid felt his stomach squeeze in on itself, wondering how he could've slept for song long without waking for food or water. It was most likely his body trying to heal itself.

"What's the matter, are you hungry?" Noah inquired, wrapping his arm around Kid once more. The teenager pulled away slightly, the magician's touch still uncomfortable to him. He nodded silently before Noah whisked him into the kitchen where his four other comrades were waiting.

"Do you suppose he would mind getting there on his own means?" Justin was asking Gopher, gesturing towards the disfigured clown beside him.

"I haven't the faintest idea." The younger boy snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "All that thing does is whistle whenever there's any sexual tension between the two of you."

"OI!" Giriko growled, glowering over at Noah's servant. "There ain't no sexual tension between us!"

"Certainly not." Justin scowled at the heretic, their eyes locked; the clown promptly began to whistle a cheerful rendition of 'zippity-doo-dah'. Both the blonde and the chainsaw started and Kid nearly smiled.

"If you're quite done undressing each other with your eyes," Noah began (Giriko and Justin turned away from each other, their faces cherry red). "Then we should plan on getting started. I have arrangements to pick up a car at the motel across the freeway. If we want to get on the road by sunset, then we should leave now."

"What about Clown?" Justin inquired, gesturing towards the beastly looking machine.

"He'll be fine getting there on his own." Noah resolved, heading towards the back door of the kitchen. Gopher took this as his chance to penetrate Kid with an optic death ray upon seeing his master's arm wound around his shoulders before bolting out the door.

"Shotgun!"

Kid blinked.

"…did he just say 'shotgun'?" He looked from Noah to Justin and Giriko, starting when it appeared that the clown had completely vanished.

"Hey BRAT!" Giriko shouted, sprinting after the lithe teen. "The deed isn't done! He said that we needed to get to the other side of the freeway! You can't call shotgun until we're there!"

"Driver overrules." Noah shouted after him. "He was out the door when he said it."

"Since when do we play by the classic rules of shotgun?" Justin inquired as he followed Kid and Noah out of the church, closing the door behind him. "I suppose you're just favoring Gopher-kun since he did so well on yesterday's task." Justin stopped to smirk purposely at Kid, whose face darkened in shame.

Noah laughed softly, giving Kid's arm a rub and a light squeeze. "Hardly. He tore a page."

"You're still playing favorites." Justin chastised lightly, still smiling. "Even though I was not there to see it, you seemed quite… _content_ afterwards."

Kid shrunk unto himself in shame as Noah laughed once more. "Now, Justin, you're embarrassing him."

"Well, it's true." The towhead shrugged.

The rest of the journey was completed in silence. By the time they had crossed the nearly abandoned freeway, the sun was coming dangerously close to sinking beyond the horizon. Giriko and Gopher were standing in the middle of an equally empty parking lot of a rundown motel and gas station; the later gloating silently while the other seethed. There were only three cars in the parking lot: a disheveled red Ford truck covered in dust, an old Honda Prelude Si that looked as if it had been caught in some sort of crossfire, and a white Toyota Camry.

"Is this the one, Noah-sama?" Gopher inquired, pointing towards the Camry, the most respectable of the three.

"I think this will do nicely." He nodded, walking over to the front of the vehicle.

'_Wait. He said there were arrangements to pick up a car. I thought he rented one or something? What is he doing anyway—?_' Kid blinked as Noah worked his fingers under the hood of the car, glancing over each shoulder cautiously to check for observers before he popped it open.

'_He's hotwiring the car. Oh my God, he's hotwiring the car._' Kid shook his head slightly, attempting to digest the information. Noah must have had other means of transporting them that didn't involve hotwiring cars. Something to do with magic or flying through the sky on those creepy worms, perhaps? But no, here he was, hotwiring a 2003 Toyota Camry like some common criminal while the teen that had just brutally raped Kid the day before stood next to the passenger door, excitingly waiting to partake in his right to shotgun. This was not happening. This was madness. This was Sparta.

The car suddenly purred to life and Noah slammed the hood closed, reached over to the door, and mumbled a spell under his breath. His hand passed through the door like the limb of a specter and the car unlocked with a series of soft popping noises. Gopher threw open the passenger door, smugly taking his throne. Kid glared at him as Justin ushered him into the car were he was forced to take the middle seat between his deceitful childhood friend and a half-drunk chainsaw.

"Where are we, again?" He finally asked, rolling his eyes as Gopher reached out to pet the back of Noah's large, tan hand as he switched the car into reverse.

"New Mexico." Explained the magician, backing out of the parking space and rolling onto the empty freeway. "We'll be going to Flagstaff Arizona tonight."

"And from there?" Kid inquired.

"Las Vegas."

The shinigami opened his mouth to reply, but found that no question could be good enough to help figure Noah's illogical insanity. "I'm not even going to ask."

As the car rolled along, Kid noticed that Giriko became noticeably more fidgety. His leg rubbed against the tender bruises on Kid's thigh, causing him to lean into Justin, who cleared his throat and pressed him back against the chainsaw. After this happened several times, the brunette unbuckled himself and stuck his head between Noah, whom was focused on driving, and Gopher, whom was staring longingly at the face of his master like a pitiful schoolgirl. Kid sharply turned his head away, none too keen on having Giriko stick his ass in his face. Justin, on the other hand, held Kid back slightly with his arm as he craned foreword to get a better view.

"Why the fuck did you hotwire this little piece of shit anyway?" He asked. "We're crammed back here like fucking sardines and this car smells like almonds and Japanese food."

"I think it's quite nice." Justin mused, though what his eyes were locked upon said he wasn't talking about the smell.

"Shut it." Giriko snapped over his shoulder. "I mean, why can't you just pop one of your million-dollar-one-of-a-kind-bullshit luxury cars out of that book of yours like when we were in California?"

"Because, if you haven't noticed, this isn't California." Noah retorted, taking an exit towards a small cluster of twinkling lights in the twilight that formed civilization. "This is rural New Mexico. You see here, people don't have millions of dollars to spend of frivolities like Lamborghinis and breast implants. Now don't you think a luxury car speeding down a country road would look a tad conspicuous?"

Giriko made a grumpy noise in the back of his throat before sitting back down. Out of the corner of his eye, Kid caught Justin pouting. Kid glanced past the blonde, though the window of the car. Now that they had reached a small town, fast food restaurants were beginning to pop up all around. His stomach gave an impatient growl and he heard Noah laugh softly from the driver's seat before he pulled into a parking lot of a Tacobell.

"Again?" Giriko groaned. "Jesus Christ, you're not doing much for the sake of racism, I'll tell you that. Is all you eat Tacobell?!"

"Sou, if I were any position to sit down at my favorite five-star restaurant in London, I would do so right this moment, I assure you." Noah explained. "But for now it's Tacobell. Now what does everyone want?"

"Chicken burrito with a diet coke." Justin said.

"Uh, I guess I'll just get two chalupas with a side of nachos." Giriko shrugged.

"Glutton." Justin muttered.

"May I have a Crunchwrap Supreme with a Piña Collata Freeze Noah-sama?" Gopher asked politely. "And Cinnamon Twists, too?"

'_Fucking kiss-ass_ _suck up_.' Kid thought with a scowl.

"Of course. And you Kid?" Noah inquired. Kid sighed, used to dining at the Death City equivalent of the restaurant Death Bell, rather than the outside chain.

"Same as Justin… with a side of nachos." His stomach growled in approval. "And a large water?"

Noah nodded and pulled up to the speaker to order as Kid shook his head at the improbably of the entire situation. If someone has walked up to him two months ago and told him that he was about to be kidnapped by a crazed magician, his brown-nosing servant, his own childhood friend, and a drunk chainsaw; then drugged, raped, and taken to Taco Bell for dinner, he would've slapped them.

"You do know that you are all the worst villains ever, right?" Kid growled from where he was sandwiched between Giriko and Justin. Noah flicked his amber eyes to Kid's through the rear-view mirror as they inched towards the window of the fast-food restaurant. "I mean, you eat ramen, hotwire cars, get _Tacobell_," He made sure to glance disdainfully at the building beside them, as if to make a point, "And play by the rules of shotgun. This behavior _hardly_ seems villainous."

Noah smirked. "Villains? Are you sure you're just not on the right side of the battle, Kid?"

Kid scowled. He was definitely not in the mood to play games at this point. Noah chuckled again.

"Would you rather us fly into battle at Shibusen on the back of dragons and slay maidens fair?" He inquired. "There are two sides to every battle. Tell me, Kid: are you a republican or a democrat?"

Kid started, taken aback by the strange question. "I'm… a liberal." He said slowly. "Why?"

"Well, Kid. Think of us as the republicans to Shibusen's liberals." He explained. "We're not evil. We just have very different viewpoints. Does that make sense?"

Kid stared.

"You're all insane."

* * *

"_Finally_!" Giriko threw his arms into the air, stretching as he stepped into the hotel room. "This is great."

Stripping of his down coat and tossing it onto one of the beds, the heretic crossed the room to the air conditioning and began to fiddle with the adjustments. "'S fuckin' cold in here. Anyone mind if I turn it up a little?"

No one objected. Kid and Gopher were staring at the beds. The _two_ beds. Giriko noticed the awkwardness and stomped back across the room, seizing Justin around the waist. "Well, I'm beat and it looks like this is my pillow tonight." He said, pulling the squawking blonde down on top of him. "We'll share this one, okay? 'Night!"

"You can at least take your shoes off!" Justin fussed, squirming out of Giriko's hold.

"I wanted to claim my bed." The brunette pouted. "I wasn't about to get stuck with prince rapey-kins over there. I've heard about those Camby-things."

"Cambions." Gopher corrected, eyes still locked upon the bed. Kid began to inch away. Noah was obviously going to take the empty bed and he wasn't about to get caught up in Gopher's jealous wrath. Besides, the thought of sleeping cuddled between two rapists was _hardly_ comforting.

"You should really start paying attention, Sou." Noah chided softly from where he was stripping himself of those God-awful belts on the other side of the room. Gopher raced over to help him remove his coat, folding it and coiling the belts around his hand. Kid twitched as he unceremoniously dumped the belts over his master's coat, smirking smugly at the shinigami. As soon as he had followed Noah off like a dutiful puppy, Kid bolted across the room and began to rearrange the belts, listening to Justin and Giriko bicker on the other side of the room.

"You pervert." Justin huffed. Kid turned to see him folding up his robes, placing them on his bedside table. His and Giriko's boots lay in a pile at the foot of the bed. Kid rushed over and began to organize them symmetrically despite himself: Justin's shorter black boots in the middle with Giriko's larger brown ones on either side.

"You're asking for it, putting on a strip show like that. C'mere." Giriko pulled Justin back into his embrace and as the blonde squeaked and flailed; Kid felt for another fleeting moment that his friend had returned. Prying his eyes away from the scene, Kid turned to the other bed and immediately regretted it.

Gopher was curled up against Noah's chest as the magician looked over The Book of Eibon. He stared over at Kid with a look that could've been described as a spoilt child glaring over at their redheaded stepsibling and saying: 'Haha! I'm the favorite!'

Kid turned away and threw himself into one of the large armchairs next to the television, curling into himself. Though he'd usually prefer sleeping in a bed over an armchair, it was a relief that he would be able to avoid a dreaded threesome rape that could only end in disaster—

"Kid, what are you doing?" Noah inquired.

'_Fuck_.' Kid glanced over his shoulder. "I'm sleeping?"

"No. Not over there you're not." Noah informed him. "Gopher, move over, please." Gopher's topaz eyes filled with sudden hurt as his lips flapped, failing to argue with his master. "Come over here, Kid; there's plenty of room. I wouldn't want you hurting your back curled up in that chair."

'_Bullshit. You hurt my back bad enough the other night, you scum_.' Kid thought, crossing the room to the bed, where he laid down as far away from Noah—or rather from Gopher—as he could. The magician sighed and pulled Kid to his free side, placing a chaste kiss on the top of his head. Kid felt the blood rush to his cheeks as Gopher made an indignant little noise. Noah shot him a look and the teenager was silenced.

"Well, we've had quite a drive. Goodnight then, everyone." Noah reached over Kid to snap off the hotel light, Justin and Giriko's sleepy wishes of a goodnight's sleep drifted over to them.

Kid sighed as Noah stretched over him, placing his treasured volume on the side table along with Justin's robe. The man promptly settled into the bed, an arm wrapped around each of the teenage boys pressed to his side.

'_Pedophile_.' Kid scowled, closing his eyes. It was a long while before he felt comfortable enough to begin to drift into a light sleep, but as soon as he did so, he heard a soft voice from Noah's other side:

"I still don't want to be separated from you, Noah-sama. Please… don't make me leave." Gopher pleaded softly. Noah sighed and shifted.

"Gopher. We decided earlier today that you'd be infiltrating Shibusen." Noah explained, obviously exasperated. "You've been quite adamant about defying me lately, is there a reason?"

There was a brief pause. "It's him. Noah-sama… why did you fuck him?"

Noah was silent.

"Why… why did you fuck him and not _me_?" Gopher inquired desperately. Noah chucked and released Kid, rolling over to loom over the other teen. Kid squinted at the image through his eyelashes, still pretending to be asleep.

"Would you like me to fuck you, Gopher?" Noah rasped. His servant emitted a tiny noise.

"_Yes_…" Whispered the boy.

Noah laughed once more and rolled off of him. "Get some sleep."

"But, Noah-sama!" Hissed the dark-tressed boy. "I still want—."

"It's not about what you want, Gopher." Noah explained. "If you recall, you're still indebted to me."

The silence seemed to stretch on.

"But I want to stay by your side." There was something broken and desperate to his voice. Kid began to wonder if it was still the same boy who had raped him the day before lying in bed next to him.

Noah heaved yet another exasperated sigh. "Go to sleep Emery."

'_Emery_?' Kid wondered silently, consciousness beginning to slip away from him once more.

"Yes Noah-sama."

Kid could tell that Gopher was crying.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hey all, Kawaii here! If you've managed to make it through two chapters of all this angst, I salutue you! Junsui didn't want to write an author's note for her chapter (which was the first); I suppose its because she just wanted the darkness of the chapter to sink in, but I never quite know with that one. Now for my personal reflection... I think this was, quite possibly, the darkest thing I've ever written. Which is saying something concerning the amount of mood-whiplash going on in this chapter with the humor towards the end. I've never written rape before, and it was quite a challenge for me to sit down and try to put such a horrible experience into words. As for the rest of the story; I think its a bit too late to inform you all that its going to be pretty dark. The events at the beginning of chapter one are taken almost directly from chapter 63-- however, you're going to notice that things are going to take a turn for AU especially in the next two chapters. SO YEAH. Oh! And by the way, a kakuremino is a cloak of invisibility in Japanese folklore; used here to describe the black cloak that shinigami-sama wears to give himself his surreal appearance. Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed the first two parts in our twisted little tale! Much love and please review.


End file.
